NEWS
Shop owners around Rarotonga have been complaining for months that tourism has died compared with previous years.
And they’ve been blaming an increased number of “Kiwis” - New Zealanders – as a big part of the problem.
Latest available tourism statistics show 8,840 visitors in July with 5,876 coming from New Zealand.
This represents two thirds of all arrivals, or two thirds.
In its newsletter, Tourism states, “The growth in New Zealand visitor arrivals has compensated for the lacklustre performance of other markets effected by a number of external variables.”
Has it?
So it might seem.
UP SLIGHTLY
Turnover declared to Inland Revenue for the first six months of 2005 is in fact up slightly over the same six months in 2004.
Declared turnover increased from $220.5 million to $222.8 million.
Agriculture and fisheries recorded the biggest percentage increase, with 17% more revenues declared.
This sector turned over $4.8 million in the first six months of 2005.
Wholesale and retail traders were the biggest dollar earners, turning over $101.4m, compared with $91.6m for the same time last year.
Traders dominate the economy, making up 45% of all declared turnover selling mostly imported goods, most of that food.
CONSTRUCTION PLUNGES
However the construction industry plunged 27%, followed by bar and restaurant owners who earned 16% less.
Transport and communication and mining and manufacturers also recorded losses in declared revenues.
Perhaps most revealing was revenue figures from hotel and motel owners who recorded one per cent less revenue in a tourism-led private sector.
Statistics Cook Islands reports occupancy levels at their lowest levels for at least five years.
Room occupancies are at 55% while bed occupancies are at even lower levels at 45% - compared with 76% for rooms and 68% for beds in 2000.
TOURISM SLUMP WARNING
Nor is the news getting any better.
Even the usually upbeat Tourism Corporation warns of a slump in advance bookings.
“All tour operators that have been contacted have reported a 'difficult' summer of selling holidays - and September, which is normally the first peak month for summer 2006 bookings looks like being very slow,” states Tourism in its Drumbeats newsletter.
“This would suggest that it is going to be a difficult 12 months for holiday
sales which will be particularly tough for long haul luxury!”
Long haul refers to visitors from North American and Europe.
Valued for their bigger travel budgets, US visitors are at their lowest arrival levels in at least five years, while Canada arrivals are less than half of what they used to be and continue to plunge – down 25% for the first four months of the year.
THE WAY AHEAD
Industry observers say the Tourism Corporation has identified a way forward itself.
In its newsletter, Tourism quotes Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism Association, a non-profit group representing more than 500 tourism businesses in 19 countries.
“The last five years has seen an incredible shift in the way holidays are marketed and it’s all because people are demanding authentic experiences.”
More than half – 53% - have ranked eating traditional dishes as an important part of their holidays, according to research by the UK’s World Travel Market.
Fiona Jeffery, Group Exhibition Director of World Travel Market, who undertook the independent research with 2000 people throughout the UK of all ages and socio economic groups, said: “Food tourism today is where eco-tourism was 20 years ago; people are starting to take an interest.”
However the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation identifies growing demand for authenticity and food tourism only as a “growing niche area” rather than a potentially strategic development.
are kiwis really killing tourism?
rising levels of expatriate employees
STATISTICS One Cook Islander is employed for every five beds in the country's tourism industry - about the same ratio as 21 years ago. There were 563 residents employeed in hotels and motels, according to Statistics Cook Islands. However six times as many expatriate employees are employed, up from 15 in 1983 to 94 in 2004. Figures on resident and expatriate employee figures are only contained in the annual bulletin, with the next one not due until July 2006. Quarterly bulletins give slightly different figures - split between part and full-time workers. Latest available figures show just 513 full-time workers, with 140 part-time. This total - 653 - contrasts with a high of 685 workers in December 2004. Tourism has dropped dramatically since then.
tepaki denies worker claim
New Zealand based hotel developer Tim Tepaki is denying claims from two of his former workers over unpaid wages. In fact, Tepaki has gone on the counter-attack, criticising the media for one-sided reporting and alleging fraud by one of the workers, William Framhein. "Had you bothered to contact our office at Nikao you would have found out that a recent reconciliation by our accounts division show that William Framhein in fact owed some $3000 to the group accounts and not the other way round," wrote Tepaki in a letter to daily Cook Islands News. "Transfers of funds have occurred under William’s watch of the group accounts that amounts to fraud." Tepaki Group spokesman John Short told the daily they hoped to solve the matter amicably but that they now had no choice but to fight a legal battle. However Tepaki has not dismissed the claim entirely. "Needless to say if the court finds we owe him money, it will be paid!"
former worker sues tepaki
NEWS Hotel developer Tim Tepaki has suffered an embarrassing setback – being sued for allegedly unpaid wages by a former worker. His former representative on Rarotonga, William Framhein, is making a civil claim against two Tepaki companies and the owner himself. A net figure of $19,324 is claimed, reports daily Cook Islands News. Framhein resigned from the Tepaki group operations earlier this year saying he was taking time to work on other projects. He denied anything was wrong at the time. Now Framhein and a co-worker Iva Eitiare Fairbrass have joined forces to sue Tepaki, Tepaki Investments Ltd and Tepaki Properties Ltd. As well as representing the company, Framhein also publicly supported passage of the Unit Titles Bill being sought by Forum Investments, the foreign company that will handle unit titles for what Tepaki claims will be a multimillion project. Framhein was quoted in yesterday’s newspaper as saying that Unit Titles should be restricted to locals only.